Emperor Xuan of Han - Late Reign

Late Reign

Late in his reign, Emperor Xuan began to moderately become luxurious in living, but was still comparatively thrifty in his expenditures. He also began to relax from his early diligence in governing the state. He also became less diligent in realizing of false reports by officials. For example, there were a large numbers of reported sightings of fenghuang (Chinese phoenixes) – mythological birds who were considered symbols of divine favor—during this period, and while in ancient China there might have been "legitimate" sightings of phoenixes (i.e., rare birds that were then-considered phoenixes), a good number of these reports were later shown to be likely hoaxes, but Emperor Xuan accepted these reports without critically examining them. However, in general, Emperor Xuan's reign, even in this period, was marked by his concern for the people and unwillingness to undertake military action unless necessary. For example, in 59 BC, a major Xiongnu civil war broke out—which would leave the Xiongnu fighting each other for years. Many generals advocated using this opportunity to completely annihilate the Xiongnu. Emperor Xuan did not want to do so, but rather encouraged peace among the Xiongnu princes with hopes of having them submit to him.

His efforts paid off. By 56 BC, Xiongnu had been fractured into three separate regimes, ruled by Chanyus Runzhen (閏振), Huhanye (呼韓邪), and Zhizhi. All three sought peace with Han, and Han was able to reduce its defense forces by one fifth, decreasing the burdens on the people correspondingly. In 54 BC, Chanyu Runzhen was defeated and killed by Chanyu Zhizhi, who further sought to try to defeat Chanyu Huhanye to reunify Xiongnu. In response, in 53 BC, at the advice of his official, Chanyu Huhanye headed south and requested to become a Han vassal to seek Han protection. In 51 BC, Chanyu Huhanye made an official visit to Chang'an as a Han vassal, and Emperor Xuan, correctly judging that he should seek to have Huhanye submit to him out of gratitude and not of fear, ordered that Huhanye not be required to bow to him, and that he be treated as higher than imperial princes. Emperor Xuan also commissioned an expedition force to assist Chanyu Huhanye in defending his territory. In 49 BC, Chanyu Huhanye made a second visit. With Han assistance, his strength grew, and Chanyu Zhizhi, who had previously been stronger, was in fact forced to move west.

In 53 BC, disappointed in Crown Prince Shi's overreliance on Confucian officials and lack of resolve, he considered creating Liu Qin, the Prince of Huaiyang, crown prince instead, but could not bring himself to do so—remembering how Prince Shi's mother Empress Xu was his first love and had been murdered by poisoning, and also how he depended on his father-in-law in his youth.

In 51 BC, after Chanyu Huhanye's visit, Emperor Xuan, in his most shining moment, remembered key officials who had been instrumental in his success. In an unprecedented action, he had the portraits of 11 of them be painted onto the main gallery of the main imperial palace, the Weiyang Palace. The 11 were:

• Huo Guang
• Zhang Anshi
• Han Zeng (韓增)
• Zhao Chongguo
• Wei Xiang
• Bing Ji
• Du Yannian (杜延年)
• Liu De (劉德)
• Liang Qiuhe (梁丘賀)
• Xiao Wangzhi (蕭望之)
• Su Wu

Huo was referred only by titles and not by name—which was considered an even greater honor than given to the other 10.

By this time, the Western Han Dynasty would reach its peak in terms of territorial size, even greater than during the reign of Emperor Wu.

Emperor Xuan died in 49 BC. He was succeeded by Crown Prince Shi, as Emperor Yuan. His tomb, Du ling is located some 15 km south east of the city of Xian.